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6-May-1920
''We have been negotiating with the Hungarians over the last few days, as well as with the Croats and Bosnians, regarding the matter of the Austrian population. We have managed to establish generous trade agreements with them in exchange for encouraging the emigration of their German-speaking inhabitants. However, some States have adopted much harsher measures to force that emigration. In Bosnia and Croatia, the properties of Austrians are already being expropriated and, in exchange, they are being given a train ticket to the Duchy or Ruthenia'' the diplomat explained while handing me his report.
''It is not ideal. I wanted this to be a voluntary migration, not for them to be sent here by force'' I replied, somewhat annoyed with the results of the diplomatic mission I had sent to the ruins of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.
''It is the best we could achieve. The new governments of the region maintain a firmly anti-Habsburg and anti-Austrian position. At the very least, we managed to prevent those people from ending up murdered during possible purges. The first groups will begin arriving soon, and they are expected to do so in large numbers''.
The diplomat turned a few pages of the report before continuing.
''Hungary, unlike Bosnia and Croatia, has opted for a much friendlier program. The government is encouraging emigration by purchasing the lands of those who wish to leave. They acquire them at prices somewhat below market value, but our offer is added to that: a house in the city for artisans and workers, or a home with land and agricultural facilities for those who prefer to settle in the countryside'' he explained while showing me several documents with information gathered by the Hungarian authorities.
''That means the Hungarian president will want to receive his payment'' I said while reviewing several books on Ukrainian grain production, trying to calculate how much we would have available when the August harvest arrived.
''This is the estimated price at which the Hungarian president expects us to sell him Ukrainian grain and oil'' the diplomat said while handing me a small sheet.
''It is not as low as I expected. It is around twenty-five percent below the usual market price, which still leaves us enough profit to continue financing several projects'' I commented while reviewing the figures offered by the Hungarians.
''Yes, but the problem is not the price, but the quantity. The Hungarian president wants us to supply enormous volumes. From what I heard in the streets of the capital, Parliament intends to approve large grain subsidies to considerably reduce the price of bread throughout the country''.
The diplomat smiled slightly.
''And believe me when I tell you that this is giving the president enormous influence over the popular classes. They are hungry, exhausted and still trying to grow accustomed to the disintegration of the Empire''.
''That is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, that was what we promised them'' I replied.
I left the sheet on the table and interlaced my fingers.
''However, I would add a clause establishing a minimum number of immigrants. We cannot give them all that grain and oil in exchange for them sending us barely a hundred families a year. The intention is to receive tens or even hundreds of thousands of Austrians and Danube Germans''.
I looked again at the figures related to the available housing.
''We have a large number of finished houses that remain empty. We are also sending workers to build and repair the necessary infrastructure, but we need the population to begin arriving as soon as possible. We could immediately receive around half a million people and, before the end of the year, be prepared to house another three hundred thousand'' I said while calculating the quantities of food and oil we would have to sell to the Hungarians as part of the agreement.
''Good. I will make sure that matter is addressed when we definitively negotiate the prices and quantities that must be sent to us. I will immediately inform the railway authorities that, over the next few days, a large number of Austrians will arrive from Bosnia and Croatia, so it will be best for them to prepare to receive them'' the diplomat said.
''Yes, there is nothing to worry about. We were already prepared to welcome with open arms anyone who wants to settle and start working in the fields or in the factories'' I replied with a smile.
Over the last few weeks, numerous families of the German soldiers who had emigrated to the Duchy had begun arriving, along with the wives and children of many men from the Eighth Army who were now coming to live with them.
The railway stations had become packed with families moving toward the cities built during my government.
During the year of preparation for the rebellion, we had never stopped building. There were numerous towns and small cities spread across specific areas of the Duchy, all connected through an extensive railway network.
Those works had been necessary to keep the population employed, allow them to receive wages, stimulate the movement of the local economy and generate confidence in our new currency.
Thanks to that, we now had numerous fully prepared cities, with the infrastructure necessary to receive the population we hoped to attract in large numbers.
We also had ample food reserves to withstand the impact of the expected demographic growth. My plans were quite aggressive: I wanted to double the population of the Duchy in barely five years.
Only in that way would we have enough inhabitants, workers and potential soldiers to resist for a reasonable amount of time in case any of our neighbors decided to invade us.
After reviewing some books and documents, I headed toward the railway station. I still had far too many things to do that day.
''I understood that you, mein Herzog, were planning to marry soon, but I have not seen any preparations for such an event'' Alexander commented, standing beside me while we waited for the arrival of a train from Hungary.
''Yes. Supposedly, I had planned to marry soon with one of the girls from the family you saw getting off that train. However, first I would like to receive Kaiser Wilhelm's approval. We would be forcing his cousin to accept something he probably will not like very much, although the circumstances make the marriage necessary''.
I shrugged slightly.
''I also do not want us to end up damaging our relations with the Kaiser while trying to protect ourselves from Russia. Besides, my proposal to hold something quick, without gala or pomp, caused her mother to raise hell. One thing is to accept a political marriage and something very different is to celebrate it in what they call a peasant wedding'' I added with a smile.
''Well, when dealing with a family belonging to such an important branch of the aristocracy, appearances matter a great deal. A marriage without pomp or ceremony could be interpreted as an insult'' Alexander replied while observing me.
''We barely have any money and they want me to waste it on the trivialities of a wedding. I am only doing all of this to make it harder for the Russian tsar to attack us'' I said, twisting my mouth with displeasure.
''It will become an increasingly important matter. The new tsar of Russia has begun a spring offensive against the last major city that remains under Menshevik control. Saint Petersburg will probably fall soon. The Menshevik front has completely collapsed and chaos reigns while the coalition between Mensheviks and Bolsheviks blame each other for having lost the war. It is only a matter of time now'' Alexander explained.
''Yes… A true pity. I would have liked to have another year of calm to establish a stronger economic base and allow the population to finish settling. But if we have to spend all our income building fortifications along the extensive Russian border, we will begin to have problems''.
I observed the tracks while the train slowly approached.
''The construction of cities will only be able to continue as long as we do not divert a considerable part of the budget toward bunkers, trenches and kilometers of barbed wire'' I added.
''Then we can only hope the Russian spring offensive causes them a great number of casualties. With the demobilization we are carrying out, the Russians could greatly outnumber us'' Alexander said, nodding slightly.
''It is what it is. We cannot continue paying for such a large army. We have too many expenses related to the industrialization of the Duchy and Ruthenia, while Vasyl uses his own budget to do the same in Ukraine''.
I interlaced my hands behind my back.
''A joint army of around one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers is the best we can maintain while the civil structures are rebuilt. The former occupation troops will formally become policemen, although, of course, they will be a much more armed and trained force than usual. In practice, we will do little more than change their name, because they will continue performing almost the same functions'' I said while beginning to walk when I saw the train stopping at the station.
Once at the station, the train came to a halt and numerous people began quickly getting down from the passenger wagons, carrying only a few suitcases. Many had unfriendly expressions and looked clearly upset.
Finally, one of my officers descended from the train and walked toward me.
''Was this train not supposed to come from Hungary? These Austrians do not look like people who voluntarily agreed to come here'' I said while observing their clothes, their belongings and the way they helped their relatives down.
''They are not coming from Hungary, mein Herzog. They are from Croatia, specifically from Esseg, in the region of Slavonia. I spoke with the local authorities and they have begun a kind of agrarian reform. They are expropriating all the lands of German speakers and dismantling the large estates of the aristocracy. As a consequence, a good part of the population is being expelled'' explained the officer who had arrived on the train.
''This was not the result I wanted. We were supposed to have negotiated voluntary migration, not their expulsion from their own homes to send them to us'' I replied, annoyed by the situation.
''There is not much we can do about it. Things are becoming quite ugly in those countries with the arrival of their new nationalist governments. They are showing no hesitation in applying measures like these to consolidate their power. Besides, another eight trains are coming from the same city. I believe they have expelled practically all the German speakers in the area'' the officer said.
''Then we are facing a refugee crisis'' I murmured, placing my hands on my waist.
''That is correct. It is likely that we will end up receiving almost the entire German-speaking population of Croatia. According to the 1910 census we used during negotiations with the Croatian government, there were around one hundred and forty thousand German speakers in the country. All of them could arrive within a relatively short time if the expropriations and expulsions continue'' the officer explained.
''Fortunately, we have the capacity to receive all of them without too many problems. That is good and bad news at the same time, because I do not want them turning us into accomplices of this kind of cultural cleansing the Croats have just carried out. Something similar is happening in Bosnia, is it not?'' I asked, looking at the officer.
''I was not there, but we know Bosnia does not have as many German speakers. Barely around twenty thousand, or at least that was what they told our negotiator. It will probably only be a few trains'' he replied while observing the groups of Austrians from the Balkans.
''I suppose it could be worse, but there is no question of respecting the treaty we signed with them under its current conditions. We are going to renegotiate everything. They promised us one thing and now they have left us with an enormous problem on our hands, with a population that could clearly consider us responsible for what they suffered. Besides, many of these people arrive with nothing that allows them to support themselves, so the entire cost of their resettlement will fall directly on us'' I said with evident annoyance.
The officer nodded and Alexander began following me while I gave orders to the nearby bureaucrats to organize the transfer of the displaced people.
The most tedious part was identifying the different family groups to avoid separating them. The Croats had not even bothered to properly record who belonged to each family, so now it fell to us to carry out all that bureaucratic work.
Fortunately, a good part of the new arrivals would remain in that town located near the border between Ruthenia and the Duchy. Around a thousand people who had previously been neighbors in Slavonia were settled there.
Other groups were sent farther east, toward settlements dedicated mainly to agriculture.
That border city, on the other hand, was intended to become a processing center for raw materials coming from the numerous agricultural villages of the region once the entire economic system began operating fully.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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